Milan (AsiaNews) – The Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCP) has issued a protection order for two young environmental activists, Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro.
As the two women and environmental groups have reported, both were detained by soldiers in September 2023 and subsequently included in a list of supporters of communist guerrillas.
The SCP ruling, which refers to “established violation to the life, liberty or security", was welcomed by the Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment of which the two are members.
The court order “sets a precedent for safeguarding environmental defenders and ensuring justice for those who threaten their well-being,” the group said in a statement.
The two environmentalists still face a charge of slander against a senior officer of the Armed Forces, whom they hold responsible for their abduction.
Karapatan and other influential human rights organisations in the Philippines have asked the Department of Justice to scrap the "trumped up” charge against the two. The request has not yet been granted.
The case involving Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro began on 2 September 2023 when they were grabbed by armed men in Bataan, north of Manila.
Despite witness accounts of the kidnapping, an announcement was later made claiming that the two activists had surrendered to the military, while the National Task Force to end Local Communist Armed Conflict described them as former fighters for the communist rebellion.
“The truth is we were abducted by the military aboard a van. We were forced to surrender because they threatened to kill us,” said Jonila Castro on 19 September in front of government officials, army officers, and the media.
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) praised the courage of the two young women, right after the press conference in which they refuted accusations and underlined the illegal treatment they received.
For the ICHRP, "Their revelation exposes the convoluted narrative” that often accompanies actions by the military or by agencies responsible for countering activities considered part of the communist rebellion.
This affects different parts of the country and is often used a pretext for repressive steps against grassroots activists as well as people who criticise the president or the government.
